Sales of Portable Navigation Devices Exceed Even the Most Optimistic Forecasts

DUBLIN, Ireland--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c47134) has announced the addition of Growth Strategies for Portable and Embedded Navigation Markets in Europe to their offering.

This latest ITS and telematics report is a comprehensive appraisal of the European navigation market, providing an invaluable resource for understanding the key drivers that are shaping the current situation and the future prospects for both portable and embedded systems. Featuring all-new research and analysis, this report goes beyond an assessment of how today’s market has evolved to provide detailed and reasoned recommendations on how it can best be exploited for business success in the years to come.

The European market is witnessing sustained growth for both portable and embedded navigation systems. Sales of portable navigation devices (PNDs) have exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts, with more than 8.5 million units expected to be sold in 2006. Competition and strong consumer demand have fuelled rapid evolution of the technology and growth in the number of products available in little more than two years.

This report shows that, by contrast, the OE embedded navigation market is growing more slowly, with around 2.1 million units forecast for 2006. It notes that the consumer interest and awareness generated by the portable market is helping generate sales of embedded equipment, particularly in the medium and upper vehicle market segments.

The author expects both sides of the navigation market to continue to coexist in this way and has formulated strategies that will position both to enjoy the best future potential. Where embedded systems are concerned, it demonstrates the need for vehicle manufacturers to be competitive with the portable market, working to reduce perceived and actual costs, reducing the negative perceptions of the OE equipment and maximising their user benefits.

Booming sales have created a large number of suppliers, with no evidence yet of market consolidation. The report thus details the ways in which suppliers can maximise their market share through providing more features, new services and improved quality and security and by exploring new sales outlet opportunities. This analysis is further extended to consider the key market drivers that may propel smartphone navigation into a mass market solution.

The report also looks at technical trends, including the development of more detailed mapping, points-of-interest (POI) information and Advanced Driver Assist (ADAS) functions, such as warnings for areas of high accident risk and Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA). The challenge of standardising map formats and speedier updating of map data are explored, along with the latest developments in navigation hardware, in particular the issues arising from the initial deployment of Hard Disk Drives (HDD).

The report contains:

- All-new content with comprehensive research and analysis of technical and market trends

- Opportunities and strategies for future market development identified and explained

- New technologies assessed, including HDD and smartphone

1. Executive summary

2. European market analysis

3. Technical trends for navigation systems

4. Growth strategies for embedded navigation

5. Growth strategies for the portable navigation

List of figures

This report provides a detailed analysis of the strategies that vehicle manufacturers and portable navigation suppliers can adopt to further grow the navigation markets.

Now in its sixth edition, the report addresses the main challenges that the key players within the navigation market face in developing innovative and relevant solutions, and provides a number of technical, business and market strategies that can be adopted.

Companies Mentioned:

- Mercedes Benz

- Mitsubishi

- Volvo

- PSA

- Opel

- Fiat

- TomTom

- Garmin

- Navigon

- Destinator

- Skoda

- Toyota

- Seat

- Navteq

- Tele Atlas

- Nissan

- Pioneer

- Google

- McDonalds

- Blaupunkt

- BMW